Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 940,581 Shares of PPL Corporation $PPL

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) by 48.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 940,581 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of PPL worth $32,890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 97.3% in the third quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 3,451 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of PPL by 3.3% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 289,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,537,000 after purchasing an additional 9,326 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor LLC acquired a new position in PPL in the 3rd quarter valued at $133,070,000. Lido Advisors LLC raised its stake in PPL by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 123,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,060,000 after purchasing an additional 10,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in PPL by 55.7% in the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 8,498 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

NYSE:PPL opened at $35.38 on Thursday. PPL Corporation has a one year low of $31.56 and a one year high of $40.10. The stock has a market cap of $26.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.05.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 13.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. PPL has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.920-1.960 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that PPL Corporation will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2850 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 65.14%.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, EVP Wendy Stark sold 5,406 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total transaction of $189,804.66. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 99,220 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,614.20. The trade was a 5.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC initiated coverage on PPL in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of PPL from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Evercore set a $42.00 target price on shares of PPL in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.12.

About PPL

PPL Corporation is an energy company that owns regulated electric and natural gas utilities. Its businesses generate, transmit and distribute electricity and deliver natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. PPL serves customers in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Rhode Island through subsidiaries including PPL Electric Utilities, Louisville Gas and Electric Company, Kentucky Utilities and Rhode Island Energy. Its utility operations maintain the infrastructure used to provide energy and support related customer services.